phone hacking

American  

noun

1. an act or instance of gaining access to a phone's voicemail, email, text messages, etc., without authorization from the phone's owner.

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Other Word Forms

• phone hacker
  noun

Etymology

Origin of phone hacking

First recorded in 1980–85

Example Sentences

Last year, on the eve of another scheduled trial, Rupert Murdoch's UK tabloid publisher NGN agreed to pay him "substantial damages" for privacy breaches, including phone hacking.

From Barron's • Jan. 21, 2026

Last year, he also settled in his court action against Rupert Murdoch's UK tabloid publisher, which agreed to pay him "substantial damages" for privacy breaches, including phone hacking.

From Barron's • Jan. 20, 2026

He said ANL "knew they had skeletons in their closet" because the company investigated the use of phone hacking between 2003-05, finding evidence in stories that the technique had been used.

From BBC • Jan. 19, 2026

Tennant is one of more than 1,600 celebrities and other public figures to have settled out of court with News Group Newspapers, the publishers of the News of the World, over the phone hacking scandal.

From BBC • Sep. 22, 2025

Drawing inspiration from the more traditional pursuit of tunnel hacking, students quickly dubbed this new activity "phone hacking."

From Free as in Freedom: Richard Stallman's Crusade for Free Software by Williams, Sam